Sudan says referendum in Darfur is good for peace as rebels see big blow Article Comments (2) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 2, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — A referendum on the special status of Darfur region will push the ongoing efforts to end th²& e eight year conflict, said the Sudanese presidential adviser entrusted with Darfur file following a two day visit to the venue of peace talks with the rebel groups. However, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) declared from Doha that they consider this step as a serious blow and set back to the ongoing Darfur political talks in Qatar. JEM further accused the government of seeking to impose a de facto situation for a matter that still under discussion. The talks with the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) are in deadlock over the issues of a vice president post and the establishment of a regional authority to administrate the three states in Darfur. The status of the region was one of the reasons that led two rebel groups — JEM and SLM-AW — to refuse to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) as the deal speaks about the organization of a referendum at the end of the interim period on this issue. "The government will organize a referendum administratively limited to consult the Darfurians residing in the region to decide, democratically and fairly, on whether they want Darfur to have the same administrative system as the rest of the Sudan or a particular status" said Ghazi after his return from Doha on Wednesday. The answer to this question will push the ongoing efforts for peace in Darfur, he further said. The government said planning to launch this month an internal process for dialogue among tribal forces, civil society groups, and officials from the elected institutions. According to the government peace strategy, displaced civilians and refugees will encouraged to return to their villages. Ghazi was in Doha after the government gave a positive response to the new proposals submitted by the mediators to see with the mediators when they can conclude talks with the rebels. The talks with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which will start on Thursday will also deal with this issue of power sharing and the future status of the restive region. JEM rebels rejected the announcement made by the Sudanese official on the unilateral organization of the referendum. "The nature and the timing of this announcement by the Regime, is yet another attempt to undermine the efforts of the Mediation and the international community in achieving a just, comprehensive and inclusive peaceful and political settlements in Darfur," said JEM spokesperson Ahmed Hussein Adam from Doha. He further urged the "Mediation and State of Qatar, the host country, to declare its clear position on this reckless and destructive step". Yesterday in a press conference held in Paris, the Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole said they had proposed last December that a vice-president from Darfur to chair the regional authority in order to enable him to impose his authority vis-à-vis the governors of the three states. Bassole said they realized that Minnawi’s failure to impose his authority before the three states governments impacted negatively the implementation of Abuja peace agreement. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
